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Carers

Are You a Carer?

At some point in their life, many people will find that they are looking after a family member, partner or friend. Each day 6,000 people take on new caring responsibilities and, at any one time, one-in-ten people in the UK are a Carer.

Caring can be very rewarding but it can also be isolating and exhausting – people who have been caring for a number of years say how important it is to maintain a life outside of caring. We are keen to identify those patients registered with our Practice who are a Carer or who have a Carer.

Why are we doing this? There are a wide range of services to support Carers and we would like to put you in contact with the local Carers Support Project, based at Hereward Hall, March. They will also add you to their Carers Register and send you regular newsletters and directories detailing the services and support that are available to you.

By registering as a Carer with the Practice or identifying that you have a Carer - we can take this information into account if you become ill or if the person you care for becomes ill. This can be important in an emergency or if one of you needs to be admitted to hospital.

The Carers Prescription NHS Cambridgeshire has also commissioned the Carers Prescription Service from Crossroads Care. Crossroads are the largest provider of respite care for Carers in the UK. Their aim is to relieve the stresses of caring by provding quality help and support for family, unpaid and informal carers. Last year they provided 69,000 hours of care for adults, young carers and families of children with diasbilities in Cambridgeshire.

The Prescription is issued by your Doctor and will give you access to a spcialist worker at Crossroads who will discuss the support options that are available to you, support you to access them and give you an information pack. The Prescription can also give you access to a break. In this instance, the specialist worker will help you design a short break that works for you and will provide support to make sure this break happens. You decide what gives you a break - it may be assistance in going out with the person you care for, someone being with the person you care for while you do something else, or something else.

Young Carers Many young people provide caring duties, too. If you are a young person who cares for an older relative or friend our Carer's register is for you too. Please register with us as we are here to help you too.